Marathon at world champs comes down to a sprint and a photo finish

TOKYO (AP) — They ran for more than two hours and needed a photo finish to determine the winner.

Alphonce Simbu edged out Amanal Petros in the men’s marathon at world championships Monday in a 26.2-mile (42.195-kilometer) race through the streets of Tokyo that came down to a sprint down the homestretch of the track at Japan National Stadium.

It was the closest marathon in world championships history. Both men clocked 2 hours, 9 minutes, 48 seconds, with the photo showing Simbu lunging across the line a fraction — 0.03 seconds — sooner.

Simbu gives Tanzania its first Olympic or world championship gold in any event.